Cologne’s hotel scene has enjoyed its most significant moment in nearly a decade, with room rates and revenues soaring to unprecedented heights in October as the city welcomed the powerhouse Anuga food fair. According to preliminary figures from CoStar, the global property-market analytics group, local hoteliers had reason to pop some celebratory Riesling.
Across the month, occupancy surged to 80.8%, an impressive 11.7% year-on-year lift and the city’s strongest result since November 2019. But it was the profitability metrics that truly turned heads. The average daily rate (ADR) reached EUR189.43, up a striking 55.6%, while RevPAR revenue per available room rocketed 73.9% to EUR153.06. Even in an industry known for its seasonal spikes, these figures represent proper record-book territory.
The real fireworks, however, came in the first week of October. On Sunday, the 5th, Cologne posted an ADR peak of EUR484.12, the highest the market has ever seen. One day later, on Monday the 6th, occupancy hit a staggering 98.5%, accompanied by a RevPAR high of EUR469.33, both records. It also marked the strongest single-day occupancy in the city since October 2015, back when international congresses were still elbow-to-elbow affairs and not half-streamed through laptop screens.
Part of the magic lay in the pure timing of the event. Anuga drew tens of thousands of international exhibitors, buyers and culinary enthusiasts, but it wasn’t acting alone. The month also overlapped with idd Cologne and the IAKS Congress, both of which packed out the city’s conference precincts and twisted the dial further on already roaring demand.
Even outside the headline peaks, Cologne’s hotels had little time to catch their breath. For 25 days of the month, occupancy remained above 70%, giving operators one of their most stable periods in recent memory and proof that major events remain the great engine of urban hotel performance.
With Europe’s MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) sector still roaring back to life, Cologne’s latest surge stands as a reminder of just how robust the right event calendar can be. And if October is any indication, hoteliers across the city may be pressing “refresh” on CoStar’s dashboards with a little more excitement these days.
For more information on CoStar’s analytics and market insights, visit www.costargroup.com.
By Christine Nguyen – (c) 2025
Read Time: 2 minutes.
About the Writer
Christine’s journey is one of quiet courage and unmistakable grace. Arriving in Australia as a young refugee from Vietnam, she built a new life in Sydney brick by brick, armed with little more than hope, family, and a fierce curiosity about the wider world. She studied Tourism at TAFE and found her calling in inbound travel, working with one of Sydney’s leading Destination Management Companies, where she delighted in showing visitors the real Australia, the one beyond postcards and clichés.
Years later, when the call of the sea and a gentler pace of life grew stronger, Christine and her family made their own great escape. She turned her creative hand to designing travel brochures and writing blogs, discovering that storytelling was as natural to her as breathing. Today, she brings that same warmth and worldly insight to Global Travel Media, telling stories that remind us why we travel in the first place.
